Heroes
by tenkage onna
Summary: I've never known a real hero before." he teased, but something in his words made the blond feel warm inside.


i wrote this a while ago, around febuary (before i moved...woah) of this year XD but i never edited and put it online, and i cant recall why not. probably didnt seem good enough in my eyes at the time. but i shall upload it now, cuz i honestly do like it.

warning: spoilers for like, the first 2 vollumes of shaman king XD and FLUFF.  
inspiration: the anime episode of lee pailong's battle. it was really touching~  
reasons: idk tbh  
rating: pg  
pairing: if you squint past the hero worship, probably yoh/manta  
summary: "I've never known a real hero before." he teased, but something in his words made the blond feel warm inside.  
disclaimer: noooooot mine~ never will be~!

enjoy~!

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All Manta wanted, was a hero in his life. Just someone to look up to, to have an example of strength to go off of. Just someone to remind him even he could be strong. He found it in old martial arts movies, in the bravery it takes to barge into a mafia boss's office with fists at the ready. The amazing skills that were pulled off in ease during a critical battle, obliterating the boss and his minions. In Manta's eyes, it was amazing and inspiring. He could never just barge into an enemy's stronghold, or fight. But, Lee Pailong, he was Manta's favorite. Because Lee didn't fight to be badass, he didn't do it to defend himself. No, he did it to protect others. And Manta, a frequent victim of bullying or just a brutal attack from local thugs, admired this greatly.

Manta didn't have a hero that he knew though. Whenever he looked at other kids, he saw what he wasn't, and saw that they didn't need a hero. They were strong and sure of themselves, and it showed at all times. Manta wasn't, he thought bitterly. He wasn't sure there were many times in his life where he truly felt sure of himself in a sense that wasn't homework or tests. He hadn't any time to really try to feel sure of anything that was skill based. He was always so busy studying.

That night was a beautiful one, chilly but lovely. The stars shone brightly, big and almost iridescent in the night sky. A big moon hovered over the city, and lit up the cemetery with waves of light. And there, sitting in the only patch of darkness, was Yoh. A boy who instantly caught and had Manta's attention. For once, he felt sure of himself, and tried his hardest to prove it. The other kids called him crazy, claimed he was stressed and laughed it off, and Yoh, the only one who knew the truth besides manta, was pretending not to know him!

To say the short teenager was embarrassed and furious was an understatement. He refused to let it go, he went as far as to stalk Yoh down and PROVE that he was a liar! He did, in word form, eventually. It took hours of patience, reminding himself he could be strong and wait. Later on, he had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The moon didn't shine nearly as brightly that night as the next. Manta hadn't meant to get caught, and when interrogated, his courage fled easily. Lee Pailong would never be afraid! He told himself, trying to move his legs. Lee Pailong would have called Ryu out and taught him a lesson or two about threatening innocents! He wouldn't allow Ryu to even come NEAR him with that deadly blunt wooden blade, he would have dodged the oncoming blows, he would have taken down Ryu's henchmen like a brave warrior!

Manta wasn't a hero like Lee Pailong though.

And in the end, he returned to school that morning covered in bruises, a broken arm and a head wound. He had never felt so weak in his life, standing there before his classmates and shouting that he wasn't a liar. They didn't believe him, they thought he was making it up. They'd have believed a hero. Manta lowered his head, biting his lip and trying desperately not to cry. Heroes didn't cry, they didn't break down, he persisted. But then again, a hero wouldn't be wounded and standing there, crying because everyone thought he was a liar. Manta wasn't a hero, he thought bitterly.

They believed Yoh though. Yoh came to his rescue, but didn't gloat, and didn't express the fact that he was doing a great deed. Manta hated him for a moment, but felt the same constriction in his chest as he did when watching old martial arts films. Somewhere down deep, he had marked Yoh as a hero. Yoh, the lazy transfer student who slept during class, who started all of this, with his big orange headphones and laid back attitude. How could a person like HIM be a hero? He didn't even have a muscle on him!

Then he grabbed Manta's hand and pulled him along beside him, calm and cool and he really did seem like a hero for a moment. He smiled and reassured Manta, he held him captive, tied to a tree, but he had defeated the bad guys effortlessly. He WAS a hero.

As he spoke more and more to Yoh, and got to know him, Manta's opinion began to falter. What sort of hero was so lazy and careless? Yoh didn't even work for what he wanted! Manta, who slaved away over a text book nightly, felt bitter, and let down. A hero indeed.

And yet, that day, he had risked his life to make sure a spirit could rest in peace. And as Yoh sat atop a tall ladder with a bucket of white paint, he had to wonder what truly made a hero. Muscles? A strong will? Was it their determination or pride? Manta didn't know. But when he took on Ryu for a sword, desperate to help Yoh, he felt like he came close to the answer.

The expression of awe and admiration in his friend's eyes as the blond handed over a sword with a bruised and shaky hand gave Manta a fluttery feeling in his chest. A glow of happiness, a shot of that amazing pride and self assurance and the thought that he had done good, that he had done a very good thing, made the boy dizzy with joy. The next day, when he spoke to Yoh about this, the brunette just smiled at him and pat his head.

"I've never known a real hero before." he teased, but something in his words made the blond feel warm inside.

And if the bell for class hadn't rang just then, he'd have said back, "I have. You're the only hero I know in real life."

Manta had always wanted a hero in his life, just someone to inspire him. Instead, he got a friend, who made him feel like a hero himself.

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oooold drabble, from god knows when D8


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